Be Alright
by insightfuldamon
Summary: What do you do when you lose what matters most? Can the peace found after death be a more convincing reality than the truth? A look into Damon and Elena's journey after the tragic events of the season 5 finale.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Elena**

It happens slowly and then it is over in an instant. The vehicle swerved and hit the fence, then there was a moment of slow weightlessness as it flew through the air: suspended time. As if waking up from a dream, the car hit the water and panic ensued. But she wasn't worried about her life, it seemed like her time had been up so frequently in the past, that the end was inevitable. She immediately turned towards the friend she had once shared a crib with, the one whose heart she did not mean to break.

He had been knocked out from the impact, and as water began to increasingly fill the car, she shook him and cried his name begging him to wake up. Trying everything she could to save him, breaking the glass, opening the door, nothing seemed to work. Within seconds the car was completely full of water and they were in the bottom of the river. That was when she saw Stefan approach the door, rip the door apart, and swim over Matt to save her...but she knew he would listen to her. She pointed to Matt, demanded that he save him, and the moment she saw that Matt was safe, water completely filled her lungs, and there was nothing.

Things never work out the way they should, not in her life. Waking up shouldn't have been an option. She was okay with finding peace, whatever that may be or look like. But he saved her, just as he always had, and just as he always promised. His hand used to graze her cheek, and brush the hair that fell into her face, and their eyes would meet. And that was all she needed.

She had been told to go to the service they held. She was supposed to let go and move on with life, that is what people had been telling her. "Drink some tea, Elena." "Get out of bed, Elena." "Enroll in some classes, Elena." "Eat, Elena." "Stop crying, Elena." "Get over it, Elena." "Let go, Elena." ...their voices a mashed up blur in her mind. One demand after the next, but she refused any order to be okay. She didn't want any fake attempt at comforting her with tea and vodka.

She didn't even feel bad about it anymore. The morning of the service, Caroline had come into her room of the foreclosed house they had just taken up residence in, wearing a new black dress with a slight triangle cut out just at her waist. "You can never have too many black dresses in Mystic Falls," she had once said.

A fake smile plastered on her face veiled with a combination of disgust and what appeared to be genuine concern. "Elena you need to go. You have to have some closure over that part of your life," she paused looking at the state of her room, and ignoring the piles of clothes on the floor and the coffee cups that lined her nightstand, "I went shopping and I saw this dress that I think would really look nice on you, for today."

Caroline began to unzip the black bag that surrounded the coat hanger to reveal the dress. It was a short sleeveless black dress with lace overlay, she had worn a similar one before with her hair in a fish tale side braid...tears began to fill her eyes. She quickly turned her head, "You have done your duty as _best_ friend. You can go now."

Stefan was the only one that she hadn't seen since that night. From what she could hear while lying in bed, he had been the one to take care of arrangements for the funeral and made sure that Damon was buried in the Salvatore family plot. So, she was actually surprised when he was the next person to come to her door on that horrible morning.

"Elena..." he said with a condescending look on his face that she began to hate after Jeremy had died.

"What? What is it Stefan?"

"You need to go. Damon would want you to start healing, and find peace..."

Before he could finish his words, Elena ran out of bed and taking him by surprise, and with one swift motion, snapped his neck, and his body fell to the floor. She pulled his body outside her door, and slammed it shut. Shutting out the world...shutting out her life...she crawled back into bed.

There was a knock at her door. When she didn't respond, Alaric called out to her, asking if he could come in. She got up and opened the door. He was wearing a suit and a concerned expression. Preparing herself for what he was about to say, or possibly echo, she took a deep breath.

"I moved Stefan to the couch. He got up 20 minutes ago, so..." he paused. "Elena, I understand why you don't want to go to the service. If it wasn't for Jeremy, I don't think I would go either."

Looking down at her hands, she began to play with her nails, picking off the clear gel manicure that she had gotten so many weeks ago. "How's Jer?"

"He's dealing the best way he can. Tyler and Matt have been taking him out for the past couple of nights. Bonnie's service was yesterday. Her mother wanted me to tell you that she understands."

Still concentrating on her hands she said, "Does she..." she paused trying to formulate her next words. "Does she know what happened to the other side?"

"Elena, I didn't ask her. She's a vampire, we were at her daughter's funeral, it just didn't seem like the right time."

Placing her hands on her lap, for the first time, she looked up at Ric. "But she could know something about what happened. Wouldn't she want to get her daughter back?" She said, searching his eyes for some understanding.

"Dammit, I should have gone so I could ask her, or get her to tell me something. She has to know, Ric. They had to have gone somewhere. He isn't dead. He isn't gone...he was everything...and my everything...my everything didn't just disappear. He is not dead."

Crumbling under the weight of her words, tears began to flow uncontrollably. Alaric immediately took Elena in his arms and held her as she cried into his suit jacket.

"It's okay to have hope, Elena. Sometimes that's the only thing we have left."

**Two weeks later**

She took a deep breath and turned over, folding her pillow in half, trying to reposition herself. One leg out of the covers, one leg in...then both legs out, and she turned on her other side...then she put both legs back under her blanket and just stared at the ceiling. She was a tornado.

She looked at the clock, 3:43 AM. Sighing, she got out of bed and pulled on her Nike black leggings and a purple sleeveless running top. She reached into her closet and grabbed a backpack. It wasn't the same type of backpack she used for school, it was one meant for hiking and withstanding the elements. Opening a dresser drawer, she put in a sweatshirt, jeans, the converse sneakers Jer had bought her a few days ago, and a couple of long sleeved henley tops. Then crawling over to her bed, she reached in between the mattress and pulled out a 4 stacks of bills and put them in her back pack. Finally, she went to the bathroom, reaching above the toilet, opening the cabinet she carefully pulled out the rolls of toilet paper until she found Bonnie's grimoire.

Replacing everything as it was, she tucked the book safely in her back pack. Taking one last look in the mirror above her dresser, she brushed her hands through her hair and pulled it back into a sloppy bun. Elena looked into her brown eyes, that seemed to have gotten darker with time, and not moving, but staring directly into her self.

She then looked down into the bowl she kept her earrings and necklaces and pulled out a long silver chain with keys connected by a brass ring. It was the only thing left that she had from that night. Liz had come by shortly after Damon's funeral and gave them to her. She had never seen Liz cry, but when she handed Elena the keys to Damon's Camaro, the only words she could get out was, "I know."

Elena placed the necklace around her neck, so the keys rested just above her heart. Throwing a jacket on over her top, and placing the backpack around her shoulders, she quickly ran downstairs and out of the house that was never really a home.

**XXXXX**

**Damon**

He rolled over, and with his eyes still closed, he outstretched his arms searching for someone that was supposed to be by his side. Realizing no one was there, he groaned until he suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Daddy...Daddy...wake up! Mommy made pancakes for you."

He opened his eyes to see Jack looking back at him, about 3 inches from his face. He had his mother's olive skin, but he inherited his Dad's piercing blue eyes. Damon picked Jack up and placed him right next to him in his bed. "What else did Mommy make us?" he said as he kissed Jack on the cheek.

Giggling Jack screamed, "Daddy, you're all itchy."

It wasn't until she walked into the room, that Damon looked up. Having recently gotten back from a run, her face was still a little flushed. She had a red checked apron tied around her waist over her Nike leggings and purple sleeveless top. Her chestnut brown hair was tied in a sloppy bun, with strands falling into her face.

She was holding a tray, and as she walked towards him she said, "Jack! What is the point of surprising your father on his birthday, if you are going to ruin the surprise?"

She placed the tray of fluffy banana pancakes, applewood smoked bacon, a small cravat of maple syrup, and fresh squeezed orange juice, down over his lap. A red rose was in a small white porcelain vase, next to a card. Jack must have made the card this morning, but Elena couldn't help but draw a few hearts in the corner of the card that read, "Happy Birthday to the bestest Daddy in the whole entire universe". Of course, Jack had to add his own drawings of aliens and space ships. He was going through a Star Wars phase, insisting on watching the movies over and over, which he didn't mind all that much.

Elena bent over, tenderly and swiftly kissing him on the lips. Not completely satisfied with the quick peck, he dramatically pulled her down, and kissed her...she tasted a wonderful combination of bacon and sweat. And she giggled as Jack yelled, "Ewww" and ran out of the room.

Once released, she sat next to him and took a drink of his orange juice. She looked at him, studied his face for a moment and almost whispered, "Are you happy?"

He brushed the few strands of hair out of her face, and smiled. "I am happy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Elena**

She had been walking for twenty minutes, when she came to the highway outside of town. The fog had rolled in that morning, and even though it was still dark, she knew the sun would start rising within the next hour. She carefully rested her backpack on the side of the road, and taking her hair out of it's sloppy bun, she let it fall, cascading past her shoulders. She walked to the middle of the road, and with her hands outstretched as if she were walking the balance beam, she followed the white lines that dotted the road. Placing one foot in front of the other, sure to point her toes as her gymnastics instructor had taught her.

After she had walked a few feet, she pivoted on one foot and turned around, sure to continue walking the line. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a beam of light and she could hear an approaching vehicle. Within a second, she was flat on her back, her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the stars, counting the brightest ones in the sky. Even the screech of breaks, and the sound of heals running towards her, didn't stop her from counting 11 illuminating stars.

She could feel heavy breath on her cheek, and feel someone trying to shake her.

"Oh my god, Oh my god. Excuse me! Excuse me! Miss, are you okay? Your eyes are open, but I can't tell if you are okay. Are you in shock? Are you lost?" and then under her breath, she added, "Please be okay."

Without moving a muscle in her body, still staring at the sky, and in a monotone voice, Elena said, "No, I'm not. I am so not okay. I am just...lost."

"But you are in the middle of the road," she said while backing away.

"I'm not that kind of lost. I am metaphorically... existentially lost," she said continuing to look ahead.

And before the woman could respond, Elena swiftly got up and pushed her up against the Porsche Cayenne that was still running. Making eye contact with her, she said, "Don't scream. Don't move."

"I don't want any trouble," she pleaded. For the first time, Elena looked at the woman. There was something familiar about her, maybe it was the strawberry blond hair or the perfectly applied coral lipstick, but Elena paused.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Amelia."

'Hi Amelia. I have a secret. I don't know what I am doing. Sure, I have a plan and some sort of idea of where to go, but I don't know what I am going to do if I fail. What if it doesn't work, Amelia? What if I fail and there is no way to get him back? What if...what if..." and with those words, Elena choked back tears and said, "...he is lost forever."

Even though she was under compulsion, Amelia looked at her with a combination of concern and fear, "Are you going to hurt me?"

"I don't know, because I need you car and I am just...really really hungry." As she said the words, her eyes turned red and the veins around her eyes became visible. Grabbing Amelia by the shoulders, she sunk her teeth in her carotid artery, relishing in the taste of her blood.

Just as Elena was about to break free, someone rushed over and pulled her off of Amelia. "Elena, stop."

Amelia fell to the ground, unconscious.

Refusing to wipe the blood from her face, she angrily said, "What are you doing here Stefan? I would be more than happy to snap your neck again, if you want, except Alaric isn't here to move your body to the couch."

Ignoring her attempts to get him off her back he said, "I'm here to stop you from making a huge mistake. He isn't coming back. I looked for answers and everyone said the same thing, the other side is completely destroyed. Bonnie and Damon must have moved on, and you should to. This path you are going down, is only going damage you."

"Really Stefan, you looked? Who did you ask, exactly? Was that why you went to Portland with Caroline, so you could do some digging and find out what happened? Because while you have been dealing with Damon's death, Alaric and I have been actually looking for a way to get him back," then biting her wrist, she walked over to Amelia and fed her her blood.

"And what does Alaric think of you skipping town?" he said while slowly walking towards her.

Ignoring him Elena, still crouched over Amelia's body focused on healing her.

Continuing to walk towards Elena, Stefan said, "What about Jeremy? What if you die searching for something that doesn't exist?"

Before Stefan could get any closer to her, Elena grabbed a waking Amelia placing her arm around her throat, standing behind her and using her as a shield against Stefan. "Alaric knows what I need to do, and Jeremy understands. So you can take your attempts to force me to go back to that house outside of Mystic Falls and your condescending attitude and leave."

And with her final words, she pushed a somewhat lucid Amelia into his arms and said, "And take care of this while your at it."

Elena ran to the side of the road to grab her backpack, jumped into the still running Porsche and drove off. Thinking about those 11 stars, she looked down at the GPS and punched in New York City.

**XXXXX**

**Damon**

"Don't look at me!" she gurgled out while holding her silk robe closed, and covering her face with her hand.

Closing the bathroom door, Damon slowly walked over to her, grabbed her hand so he could look into those doe eyes, "But you look so cute when you are getting ready in the morning."

Ignoring him, she freed herself from his grip, pulling her hair out of her face with one hand, and with the other she took the toothbrush out of her mouth and spit while rinsing her mouth with cold water. Damon just stood there with a smile on his face, almost laughing he handed her one of the wash towels they received as a wedding present from Jenna and Alaric with the initials DSE embroidered in the middle. Alaric, of course, had also gotten Damon a bottle of aged bourbon, which Elena promptly stole for a night with the girls. "Yeah," she said while wiping her face clean. "Yeah, I am real cute right now."

Walking closer to her, he brushed her hair out of her face, allowing his fingers to slowly trail her cheek to her neck to her collarbone. Whispering he said, "Don't you want me to have a happy birthday?"

Elena's hands dropped to her side, leaving her robe slightly open revealing a black lace bra. He took his time untying her robe, but she was unmoving; still, anticipating his next action. He first kissed her forehead, then he softly kissed her lips. He easily lifted her up onto the bathroom counter, throwing off the makeup that had been perfectly laid out. Kissing her harder, more deeply, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved from her lips to her neck, and just as her hands reached towards his belt buckle, they heard the doorbell.

As if woken up from a dream, Elena hopped off the counter, and retied her robe. "You'd better get that," she said, smiling and giving him one last peck on the lips.

Groaning, Damon straightened his paisley blue tie, and tucked his crisply ironed shirt in.

"Oh babe, I'm going to need the Porsche today. I have to take Jack to my Mom's, before dinner with your _brother_ tonight."

Taking one last look at Elena, he said, "Of course. I prefer to take the Camaro anyways."

"Wait, did you get that fixed? I thought it was still in the shop after the accident a couple of weeks ago," she asked.

Looking at the mess of make up left on the floor, Damon's brows furrowed. "Yeah, I must have forgotten," then glancing up he said, "I'll have a car service take me to work."

Turning to leave, he ran downstairs to get the door. As he reached for the doorknob, Jack ran to him, and hugging his leg he said, "Don't go to work today. Stay home and play with me."

Laughing, Damon picked up Jack, who was getting bigger and heavier by the day. "I wish I could stay home with you."

Opening the door, his smile fell, "Well hello, blonde one."


	3. Chapter 3

**Elena**

He tried to teach her how to cook. She said that she could just sit and watch, but he insisted on teaching her how to make something other than coffee, cereal, and chili. She looked over at Jeremy who was busy playing Call of Duty on his X-Box.

"Fine," she paused considering her options. "Teach me how to make pizza."

"Challenge accepted," Damon replied with an added peck on her forehead as if to seal the deal.

Later on that afternoon, he came home from the store with bags full of ingredients. Elena had immediately reached for the wine.

"Getting started early?" Damon teased as he sorted out the ingredients. Bushels of basil and parsley, garlic, onions, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, provolone, flour, yeast, and large cans of tomatoes that looked like they were imported from Italy.

"Yeah, you're one to talk," she retorted, watching Damon work as she sat on a barstool on the other side of the kitchen island. She loved just watching him, memorizing him. The way his lip curled when he smiled, the way his lips almost pouted when he was pondering something or trying to figure out a solution to a problem, one that usually had to do with her.

"Canned tomatoes, really?" She said, looking doubtful.

"You wanted to learn how to make pizza. The best pizza has Italian tomatoes. We are not in Italy, so San Marizano tomatoes are the next best thing."

Damon walked over to one of the cabinets near the double door sterling silver refrigerator and got out a bowl, then reaching above the state of the art gas stove, he unhooked one of the copper pans that hung above, along with a pot. As ironic as it sounds, the Salvatore's prided themselves on their kitchen.

A brick wood fire pizza oven was installed recently, the gas stove had an attached coal grill, and the double convection oven could easily fit two Thanksgiving turkeys. The refrigerator had a touch screen where they could leave notes for each other on what they needed, look up a recipe, or watch a football game.

Damon had bought her an espresso maker from Italy, that she had only recently learned how to use. The marble kitchen island was large enough that she could have invited Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Matt and Tyler over to do shots of tequila or just hang out around tortilla chips and salsa. She loved being in that kitchen, whether it was drinking a latte while writing in her journal, or talking to Damon just after she came home from a run.

Once Damon had fired up the oven, he walked back to the kitchen island and poured the tomatoes in a bowl.

"You have to crush them with your hands," he said.

"Me? Why do_ I _have to crush them with my bare hands? Can't we use like a masher or something?"

Looking down, Damon tried to suppress a smile. "If you use anything other than your hands, you'll bruise the tomatoes and it helps with the consistency of the sauce. Now put those hands to good use and come over here."

Elena shook her head, "Nope. That bowl looks like it is full of the number of hearts you ripped out," and then pointing to the bowl she added, "I am not touching that."

Rushing to the other side of the island where Elena was sitting, Damon grabbed Elena and pulled her over to where he had everything laid out. He positioned her in front of the bowl, and while standing behind her, caging her in. Elena's heart fluttered and her breathing quickened as his fingers grazed her arm as he placed them in the bowl.

Screaming and laughing, she said, "Agh! Damon, you don't need to be a caveman!"

Elena squished the cold, wet tomatoes with her fingers as Damon stood behind her. She was completely distracted by his warmth. His arms wrapped around her, boxing her in, and not allowing her to go back to her comfortable seat across the kitchen island. As she crushed the tomatoes, juice sprayed into her eye. "Ouch," she yelped.

Without thinking, she immediately reached up to rub her eye getting tomato juice all over her face. Not able to help himself, Damon stepped back and started laughing. "You really are a mess in the kitchen."

Reaching over, he gave her a half smile of apology and wiped some of the tomato juice off her face with a kitchen towel he pulled out of his back pocket. Unable to resist the moment, Elena took her hands, still wet with sauce and smeared her hands all over Damon's green henley shirt.

"Now we are both messes," she said as she backed away, and knowing the consequences she might face, she attempted to grab the bowl of tomatoes. Damon was faster. Taking the bowl, he started flinging tomato juice at Elena, completely drenching her red tank top.

"Good thing it's red," he laughed.

Furious, Elena took anything she could find and started throwing it at Damon, as he continued to toss mashed tomatoes in her direction. With almost the entirety of the contents in the bowl of tomatoes all over her, Elena took the carton of fresh mozzarella and just as she was about to throw a ball of cheese at Damon, she slipped on a bushel of basil leaves and completely fell on her back.

"Dammit!" she said, unable to get up.

Concerned, Damon put the now empty bowl on the counter, and quickly came to her aid, reaching out a hand to help her up. Just as she grabbed it, taking advantage of the moment, she pulled him down with her. As he fell to the floor, she flipped her body around so she was on top of him. Straddling his waist, she pinned his arms behind his head, and leaning down, she whispered into his ear. "Do you give up?"

Completely amused, Damon whispered back, "No, but I am enjoying the view."

Just below his ear, Elena started lightly kissing his neck, trailing down to his collar bone. Damon sighed with pleasure as she leaned over him, still pinning his arms down, pressing her body on top of his.

With quick agility only a vampire would have, Elena released his arms and ripped his shirt open, continuing her work down his chest as she tasted his scent. Listening to the the sound of his quickening heart beat, she slightly looking up at him, she smiled. As their eyes met, she arched over his body and kissed him, softly on his bottom lip. Using his now free hands, Damon placed one hand on the small of her back, bringing her even closer to him and kissed her deeply. The warmth of his mouth sent a current of electricity through her body, and like a drug, she wanted more.

Rocking her hips back and forth, they kissed with their mouths open and teasingly as she pulled away, she sucked on his lower lip. Placing her hands on the tile for support, she leaned directly over Damon. As their eyes met, veins began to grow red around her eyes, kissing his lips one more time, she slightly moved his head to elongate his neck. Using the back of her hand, she lightly touched his soft skin, and then leaned in and bit his neck, drinking his warm blood.

"Oh, Elena…" he sighed as he encouragingly brushed the back of her hair. After a few moments, she lifted her head slightly to lick the blood off of the wound she created on his neck.

Bringing her head to his, he took a moment to look at her. Her face still had smears of tomato juice and his blood, and with a slight smirk, Damon kissed her again and said, "You win."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her thumbs drummed the brown leather steering wheel as she waited impatiently at a stoplight in a small town outside of D.C. She had removed the graduation tassel that adorned the reflection mirror the moment she got into the car, and threw it in the glove compartment. Elena chose not to listen top 40, or any of the self help CD's that Amelia had. Amelia conveniently had a pair of Armani sunglasses that Elena had put on to block her eyes from the daylight. Her mind wandered to that summer and as much as she would like to clear her mind of those memories, she knew how important it was to hold onto them.

After a few more hours, and a stop at a gas station, she found a small motel in Saddle River, New Jersey, about 45 minutes outside of the city. Even though there was little daylight left, she left her sunglasses on, grabbed her back pack, Amelia's purse, a small Louis Vuitton carryon she found in the trunk, and walked inside the motel. The outdated beige lobby was small and empty. A young man with sandy blonde hair in a suit that looked about 2 sizes too big for him, stood behind the counter. As she approached the man looked up and smiled. "May I help you?"

Pulling off her sunglasses and with a somewhat forced giggle, she said, "I sure hope so," and then sure to make direct eye contact she added, "I want a room near your back exit. No questions."

Still gazing into her eyes, he said, "Of course."

Then looking down, he typed a few things into his computer and said, "Room 175 is available."

After no more than a few minutes, he handed Elena an envelope with the key card tucked inside. She looked up at him, and once again making eye contact, she said, "Walk me to my room."

The clerk nodded and led Elena down the beige hallway to a room in the back. The halls were relatively empty, but Elena made note of an elderly man in a robe getting ice from an ice machine they walked past.

Room 175 seemed like the best option for a room, with only a janitor's closet between her and the exit, she observed, looking out the glass door and making sure her car was within view.

The clerk slid the room key through a slot next to the door knob. When it turned green, he opened the door, revealing a room that had the same color scheme as the lobby, except the comforter was covered in a white and pink flower print. There was a box television set on a chest of drawers and a bucket for the ice machine with upside down tumbler glasses next to it. The curtains were closed leaving the room in a dim warm glow.

Still continuing not to speak, the clerk looked at Elena expectantly. Elena walked into the room, dropped her back pack, purse and carryon on the floor in the entryway, and before the clerk could go, she quickly pulled him in the room. Startled, he began to struggle and escape, but Elena was too fast. Holding him by his shirt collar, and looking into his eyes, she said, "Don't speak. Don't move."

Standing there, motionless, he watched her with a combined look of disbelief and horror, while Elena closed and locked the door. She turned and gazed at him with pity. "I'm sorry, I just need a little snack."

Taking her time, she brushed back his hair with her fingers. She traced his face with her index finger, creating a trail to the collar of his shirt. She loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top five buttons completely exposing the length of his neck and collarbone. She peeled back the collar of his polyester blend shirt and dug her teeth into his carotid artery. She was sure not to take too much, knowing he would be missing and she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

After a few minutes, she pulled herself back from the brink, and wiped her mouth. With a nearby cloth, she cleaned his neck as best she could in the little time she had and dressed it with a bandage she had in her backpack. Elena buttoned his shirt to cover the bandage, and tightened his tie. He was still conscious, but had the same look as most people who had been drained, like a high school freshman who had just gotten high behind the bleachers during a football game.

Choosing her words carefully, she concentrated on his eyes once again. "You never saw me and I never fed off of you. You don't know who I am. I was never here. You left the front desk because you had to check room 175. It needs it's pipes fixed and is dangerous to be in. You are going to send someone in to repair it tomorrow morning, but until then, it is to left undisturbed. Go back to your desk."

With her prompting, he left her room. She closed the door behind him, and grabbed Amelia's bag and placed it on the bed. She opened the bag and searched through it, silently praying she would find what she needed. She pulled out a couple of blouses that looked like they were more for a day in court thank what she had in mind. Some lingerie that Elena avoided touching, and a scoop neck black tank. Casually touching the fabric, and set to the side. Spotting a makeup bag, she sighed in relief, opening it to reveal a combination of Bobbie Brown and Smashbox cosmetics.

Not quite at the bottom of the bag, she found a pair of Marc Jacobs rose gold hoop earrings tucked in a side pocket. Next to the side pocket where she found the earrings, she picked up a large black cloth bag, with a draw string top. Opening it, she saw the most beautiful pair of black leather riding boots boots. "Amelia has decent taste," Elena thought to herself as she continued to dig through the bag.

Finally, she found something that might work, a pair of Joe's black skinny jeans, that had a matte shine to it. They would be slightly tight on her curvier figure, but Elena thought that would only work to her advantage. She laid out the items she planned on wearing on her bed, and then opened up her backpack, carefully pulling out the grimoire. She thought about the conversation she had with Alaric during the previous week over coffee.

_"Alaric, according to Sheila's phone records before she died a few years ago, she was in constant contact with Bonnie's cousin, Lucy. Even then, Sheila had to have had some information. I mean, she was a professor of occult studies. Right?"_

_"I don't know Elena, it's a long shot, and we haven't been able to find Lucy. All we know, is that since her confrontation with Katherine, she went into hiding. She's a witch Elena, she could be anywhere," Alaric rationalized._

_"It may be a long shot, but it's a shot. It's something. Someone who might have information, and I know exactly where to look."_

Elena flipped through the pages of the grimoire. She didn't really know what she was looking for, but looking at those foreign words soothed her somehow, as if all the answers to her problems could be contained in that book. Reverently placing it back in her backpack, she grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready.

After forty-five minutes, Elena was almost ready. Staring at herself in the mirror, she artfully tried to apply a copious amount of eyeliner, smudging it in all the right places. She laid on a thick amount of mascara, and stood back looking at her reflection. Stealing Amelia's car had been the best choice she could have made, and almost promised eventual success. Excluding the expected confrontation with Stefan, things had been going according to plan, and now, wearing the tight black tank top that somewhat tastefully showed a hint of Elena's black lace demi bra, the designer skinny jeans, and the Louboutin riding boots, finished off with the rose gold hoops, she felt like she could pull off what she needed to do.

She quickly ran her fingers through her tousled curls, and added another spritz of hairspray before leaving the bathroom and grabbing her things. She threw the rest of Amelia's clothes back in the cary on, and just as she was about to throw her phone, which had been off since she left,_ for obvious reasons_, her keys, some lipstick, and her wallet into Amelia's Stella McCartney bag, she heard a knock at the door. Startled, she looked around the room, making sure nothing looked amiss. "No one is supposed to know she's here," she thought.

She'd been so careful to go undetected, but something was off. She could feel it. There was another knock at the door, except this one was more like banging. "Open up!" a deep voice shouted.

Elena focused her hearing and on the other end of the door, she could hear conversation. "Yes, that's what I said. A girl went in the there, and the front desk clerk went in with her. There was loud commotion and when he came out, he looked dazed, and there was blood. BLOOD. On his collar," said an older, raspy voice.

"My employee told me, with absolute certainly, there was plumbing problems in this room, but clearly there's another story. I'm going to call the police," the manager said.

"Fuck!" Elena thought, she had to get out of there, fast. She opened the door, and almost laughed about what she had to deal with. A short and pathetic manager of a shitty motel on a power trip, and the elderly man she saw earlier, still in his bathrobe. "Is there something wrong?" she said with a sickeningly sweet smile, slightly pouting her lips at the last word.

Startled, the manager looked at her chest, dumbfounded, but unfortunately, the nosy neighbor wasn't so easily deterred. Coughing, he said, "The clerk had blood on his collar when he came out of _your _room!"

Using the distracted manager to her advantage, she focused her eyes on the elderly man. "You didn't really see a man come out of my room. In fact, you never saw me. No one is in that room, it isn't being used because it has plumbing problems. You had a quiet evening at the motel, you quickly left the room to get ice, and didn't see anyone. You are now going to walk back to your room, watch a half hour of the news, and go to bed."

The elderly man nodded, turned around and walked back to his room. "What's going on? What did you do to that man? You just stared at him and he did what you said. How did you do that?" The manager said, breaking out of his daze.

Elena rolled her eyes, and focused her attention back on him when she saw that the elderly man had gone back to his room. Pushing him against the door, she caged him in with her arms, running a finger over his round face, she locked eyes with him, and in a hushed voice, she said, "You're not going to be a problem, are you?"

Apparently unable to speak, he nodded his head. "Did you call the police?"

"Yes," was all he managed to say.

Elena expected this. "You're going to need to get rid of any security footage from this evening right away, including footage from the parking lot, and when the police come, say it was a mistake. You never saw me. I was never at this motel. This room had plumbing problems and you came to check on repairs."

In the distance, Elena could hear sirens. Just as the man stood dazed, nodding his head at something in the distance, she grabbed her things and flew out the door to Amelia's car. As she opened the door, and placed her things inside, she saw the police pull up to the front of the motel. Glancing around, she didn't see an exit in the back of the parking lot, the only option was to go through the front entrance. She'd have to either go on foot, or risk staying in the car until they left, praying they don't decide to randomly search the parking lot.

Deciding it was too risky to leave the car she stole in a parking lot where there was a potential police search, she went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Searching, she found what she was looking for. It was a trick she learned from Damon last summer. She tried to shake the memory from her mind, but images of his crouched body behind a black BMW x5 in some random parking lot outside of Atlanta, with his jeans slung almost too low, as he showed her how to effectively pull off stealing a car.

_"Damon, I know how to use a screwdriver," Elena had joked._

_Slightly turning his head, with a wry smile he said, "Elena, you should know I'm an expert screwer."_

_Rolling her eyes, but unable to hold in her laughter, she said, "Okay. You've got me there."_

_Smirking, Damon attempted to redirect the conversation. Showing her how to survive on her own, was important to him. "If you're going to steal a car, you can't draw attention to yourself, but you should switch around license plates from more than one car."_

_"Why? Can't I just compel someone if I get caught?" _

_"One of the reasons so many vampires die quickly, is because they rely too much on compelling and don't think things through. They get cocky. You have to fly under the radar," his deep blue irises bore into her, imprinting his words in some facet of her mind._

Fly under the radar. Elena cursed herself for not switching plates earlier. She peeked out from the side of the car to make sure the police weren't in the parking lot. She knew she only had a few minutes to pull of what she needed to do. With expert speed, she switched around Amelia's plates with those of 3 neighboring cars, one of which, thankfully, was a similar make and model of her car. She slipped back into the car, and cautiously drove past the police who were now getting back into their cars, out of the parking lot.

After checking her rearview mirror continually for 20 minutes, she started approaching the city. The lights of New York illuminated the skyline, and even though the stakes were high, she couldn't help but allow excitement to bubble up inside of her. She was doing something, and it was the hope of results that carried her.


End file.
